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Got Dry Skin?

There are a lot of misconceptions about handmade soap and dry skin. Yes if you buy the right type of handmade soap you can avoid dry skin. I find that a lot of melt and pour soaps can be very drying to the skin (sorry just my opinion and some may disagree) but no matter how natural or expensive the M&P Glycerin soap I buy, I can still tell the difference and it still makes my skin dry. I know there are so many pretty, fragrant and colorful glycerin soaps but are they good for your skin? That is what you should be asking yourself. Cold or hot process soap is the best bet for you. Of course if you are still buying over the counter soaps, you will continue to have dry skin. Those soaps are detergent and beauty bars. With the combinations of those soaps and hard water areas you will continue to have dry skin.

Using harsh, alkaline soaps and soaking too long and too often in very hot baths can do it.

Overheated homes with low humidity, as well as air-conditioning (which also lowers the relative humidity) contributes to dry skin. Other factors include too much sunbathing, overexposure to wind and cold, fuzzy and woolen clothing, towels and sheets that you may have laundered in harsh detergents but not rinsed well enough, and nutritional problems resulting from poor diet

Here are some tips for avoiding dry skin:

Increase the relative humidity in your home to at least 40 percent by properly adjusting the heating or air-conditioning systems. If this is not practicable, buy a good, commercial room humidifier. When your windows fog up, and when your wallpaper begins to peel, you won't have dry skin!

Don't overheat your home. In the winter, keep room temperature as low as possible consistent with comfort. Cold winter air holds less moisture than warm air.

Use bath and shower additives. These will help keep the skin moisturized.

When you bathe or shower, don't use extremely hot water or harsh soaps. Pat, do not rub your skin dry.

Apply moisturizing creams or lotions try a good lotion with natural ingredients such as our Botanical and Shea Butter Lotions. Try it on damp skin right after the shower or bath. This will help lock in the moisture in the upper layers of the skin.

If you have hard water, consider installing a water-softening device.

Avoid excessive sunbathing, cold temperatures, and strong winds.

Don't wear heavy, woolen, fuzzy clothing.

Do not sleep under electric blankets. This heat sucks out all the moisture from your skin.

Keep healthy, make sure you eat a well-balanced diet, and drink plenty of water.

Avoid taking hot showers during the winter. Just like the sun can dry your skin and hot curling irons can dry your hair. Heat can cause dryness. Hot showers can draw moisture from your skin. Take warm or cool showers.

If you suffer from dry skin, try switching to mild gentle cleansers and use soothing bath oils and water-attracting creams and lotions that keep in your skin natural moisture and leave it smooth, soft, and supple. The goal of dry skin therapy is to restore and maintain moisture in the skin, and the best way to treat dry skin is to prevent it in the first place.

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Ok I spent the entire day devoting to making soap. I actually made a batch of soap. I decided to use the Hot process method again today but using the crock pot. The first time I used this method I used the oven and it came out pretty well. So since I have a crock pot that I don't hardly use, I decided to try it.

Pros and cons for both cold and hot process soap making

Both methods have its advantages and disadvantages. Which one do I prefer, it is really hard to decide. Please keep in mind that these are just my opinions based on how I made my own soaps. I am sure others will have their own opinions.

Lets start with the Cold Process Method.

1. Pro-I like the fact that I can color the soap and make designs with this method.

2. Con- For me the scent sometimes gets distorted if I use this method. I find some of my fragrance get so messed up after I take it out of the mold and cut. Some of my scent don't seem to smell the same afterwards. Sometimes not all the time. Curing time …

Is one better than the other? It depends on what you like. Do you prefer soaps with lots of color, swirls and edible looking or do you prefer to keep is simple? I make both hot and cold process soaps and I am often asked, What's the difference? Does it matter if it is cold or hot? The only difference is the method of making the soap.

Here is the best way to explain the difference.

Chamomile Neroli Hot Process Soap

The hot process and cold process but lets start with the hot process. It begins by running your recipe through a lye calculator. It measures how much lye that will be needed in your recipe. The lye is measured and added to your measured water NOT THE OTHER WAY AROUND because adding water to lye is dangerous and can cause an eruption. Next, the lye and water mixture is added to heated vegetable or animal fats. Some soapers prefer to use a crockpot and some prefer to use a pot. I use a pot as my crock pot is never big enough and prefer a larger pot which gets put into the …